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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · degree · stand · tear · straw · pitch

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. degree — an amount
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — completely
  5. ground — the earth
  6. tear — from crying
  7. degree — from a university
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — to bear
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ground — crushed
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com